Fullmetal ALchemist RETOLD
by Skyler25
Summary: Two girls join Edward and Alphonse on their quest for the Philosopher's Stone, one to regain her lost memory, one because she's convinced they need her.  But is there more to these two girls than meets the eye? [EdxOC, AlxOC, MUCH later on]
1. Taboo

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or any of its characters. Nor do I own a witty and funny disclaimer. I own Hope, and Hope alone. My friend Peachy300 owns Patience, but I have permission to use her.

Skyler25: Wahoo! Another fanfic by Skyler25? Has the world gone mad? I'm starting another fanfic when I can already barely find time to update the other one? The answer is YES! XD

Skyler: Y-you're just starting this one as an excuse to not write mine!

Skyler25: …LIES! Now go back to YOUR fic. –Skyler disappears- Yes, now, so anyway, this story has a script. Deal with it. I honestly don't care.

Hope: You're abnormally apathetic today.

Skyler25: You're abnormally _pa_thetic today.

Hope: -sniff- Aww…

Notice of Milky, Pie-flavored Doom: This story is rated T because that is simply the nature of FMA, and I can't retell it without rating it T. Unless I mindlessly break away from the storyline, which would be just plain weird.

--

"Are you sure you want to go through with this, Ed?" I asked, looking at the large transmutation circle in the center of the room. "Other people have tried before and failed. I'm not saying that you can't do it," I added hastily. "Just…something tells me that it's a bad idea. Or maybe I simply know nothing." I shrugged. Behind me, something shook. I turned my head and noticed that my friend, a small girl named Patience, was shivering behind me.

The young blond boy painting the circle smiled. "Yeah, maybe you do know nothing. It's like you _can't_ do alchemy. And Patience can't do it either." He paused and frowned. "Why?"

"I told you before," I said, carefully avoiding stepping on the circle and walking over to him. "I don't know. We just…can't. Nothing happens when we put our hands on the circle." I demonstrated. "See?"

Ed screamed. "GAH! DON'T DO THAT! IT'S NOT DONE YET!" He recoiled, afraid of the reaction the circle would have. Nothing happened.

"I told you I can't perform alchemy," I said, stepping back.

"Still," Ed muttered. "You shouldn't do that, Hope. You never know the reaction it could have had. It could've turned me into an oyster, for all I know. Or a bottle of milk." His younger brother, Alphonse, a brunette boy sitting next to him, giggled at his remark. "_Brother_," he said in a half-exasperated, half-amused voice.

I frowned. "God, Ed! Why do you complain so much? I hate you." Edward sighed and rolled his eyes- he had heard that many times before.

Patience, no longer hiding behind me, shivered even more. She tried to hide her scared expression with a smile. "Drafty in here, isn't it?" she said quietly. She swayed back and forth nervously, shook her frilled skirt, and twirled her dirty-blonde-brown hair. She even bit her nails- something I hadn't seen her do in months.

Ed and I looked at her strangely, watching the shivering girl devour her nails as she shook. She tried a smile, but bit her lip instead.

Only Alphonse humored shivering Patience with a smile and a giggle. He reached for a sweater and draped it on Patience's back like a cloak. "Yeah, it is cold in here, isn't it?" he said, rubbing his arms, even though he was sweating.

Edward and I could understand that Patience was nervous about what was about to happen, but what we couldn't understand was why she was trembling so violently. It was the middle of summer. There were no drafts.

--

"There." Ed sat back and wiped the sweat from his face. "It's all done." He stared proudly at his work, a perfect human transmutation circle. "Ready?" He turned to his younger brother. "Don't be scared, Al."

Al nodded, and prepared to put his hands on the circle. Ed, however, hesitated and turned to me. "You sure you two don't wanna try too?"

I nodded, pushing a strand of long, black hair out of my face and stepping in front of Patience protectively. Let the reckless boys do what they want. "I'll just get in your way." I took a step back.

"But you guys have special powers!" Al protested. "You could help, maybe."

I still refused, and they shrugged and began the transmutation. "_DON'T DO IT!_" Patience cried at the last moment, but her voice was drowned out in the noise. A glorious golden light emanated from center of the circle, where they had placed the ingredients.

It was true. Patience and I did have special powers. We didn't know where they came from or why we had them. It seemed no one knew. So eventually we stopped asking. We mostly kept it a secret. Only Ed and Al and another girl named Winry knew.

--

"It's working!" Al cried in delight. "It's really working! We're gonna have Mom back!"

I felt a pang of jealousy towards him. Unlike the Elrics, I didn't know who my parents were. For all I knew, I never had any.

"Quiet!" Ed hushed, though he was smiling too. "Do you want someone to hear? That could mess the whole thing up!"

"Messed…up?" I heard Patience mutter quietly. She had now broken into a cold sweat. I was beginning to feel similar feelings of nervousness, and I hugged my best friend for comfort.

Then it all went wrong. Suddenly, the glorious golden light became a sinister purple, and the there was a blast of energy from the transmutation circle. I was knocked back and the back of my head hit an open cabinet. The room began to grow fuzzy.

"Edward…?" I muttered quietly, then fell to the ground. The last thing I heard was Ed's hoarse voice say, "…Mom?" Then I heard a scream. "…Edward? …What're you doing?" Why was I asking? I was too dizzy to care. "I hate you for this, Edward Elric. I hate you so much…" Images flashed past my eyes, and I felt myself getting angry at people with seemingly no connection. Edward, Alphonse, their teacher…

Just I completely lost consciousness, I muttered one last sentence. "Mom…why couldn't you…let me…die…?"

--

Skyler25: GAH! I know it's short!

Ed: WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SMALL INSECT WHO ESCAPES THE WRATH OF THE SHOE BECAUSE HE FITS IN THE CRACKS! Furthermore, who're you calling an "IT?"

Skyler25: The chapter. Not you, Ed.

Ed: …Oh.

Skyler25: BWAHAHAHA! BWAHIHIHIHIHI!

Ed and Al: -cowering in fear-

Hope: Don't worry, she gets like this all the time.

Patience: You would too if you had cake for breakfast.

Skyler25: Sooo…yeah. If you liked it, review. If you hated it, review anyway. If you're hungry, get a sandwich, then come back and review. REVIEW!!!! –sniff- No one reviews me…


	2. Liore

Disclaimer: Moo! I don't own FMA! Or Ed! Or Al! Or Rose! Or anyone from FMA! Or any of the places in FMA! I own Hope! My friend Peachy300 owns Patience! I'm using her with permission! I believe we've been through this all before! Yeah, let's move on!

Hope: -looks up- …Interesting…disclaimer.

Al: -cowering in fear-

Skyler25: -looks at Al- Y'know, you have yet to speak a word.

Al: …Hi… -goes back to cowering in fear-

Ed: Hey…Skyler25?

Skyler25: Mm?

Ed: Where did you get that ahoge?

Skyler25: I dunno. Where did you get yours?

Ed: …Come to think of it…I have no idea!

Skyler25: We're boring the readers. On with the story!

--

"I hate the desert," Ed groaned, slowing his pace. "It's nothing but sand!"

"It's much more than sand," I remarked, looking around. "It's sand dunes…and, um, sunlight…and, um…" I trailed off, looking for something to list.

"Sand," said Patience. This was followed by a nod of her head, as if she was some wise philosopher who had just made a moving comment.

"Oh, come on, Ed!" I said cheerily. "I know what we could do to keep conscious! Tell knock-knock jokes! Knock-knock!"

"Who's there?" Patience answered just as happily.

"Intelligent!" I grinned.

"Intelligent who?"

My smile suddenly turned into a scowl. "Intelligent people don't tell knock-knock jokes."

"You shut up, Ms. Look-At-Me-I'm-So-Happy," Ed said grumpily, and collapsed. "If there was some grass, I could turn it into bread," he growled. "I'm starving!"

"Then if you're starving, be starving!" I said, immediately losing my good nature. "Nothing I can do about it, is there?"

Ed stared at me blankly. "That was the worst mood swing you've ever had. I swear..." He trailed off, searching for the right words. "You're sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," I said, forcing a smile. "Now let's get Al and get moving." I bit my lip to keep from scowling again and grabbed Patience's arm. "Let's go!" I said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, right…get Al…" he said distractedly. His mind was obviously on something else. "Okay, so right…"

I waved my hand in front of his face. "Amestris to Ed, do you read?" I said with a laugh. "Calling Space Cadet Edward Elric!"

"Huh? Oh! Right! Where were we? Oh, yeah, getting Al. Al…?" Ed got to his knees and looked around. "Al? Al? Where'd you go?"

Patience got down and helped him. "ALPHONSE!"

"YO FONZY!" I yelled.

"Down here!" came a voice.

A metal hand emerged from the bottom of the sand. It grabbed Ed's leg. Ed screamed and grabbed my ankle, which hurt a lot, for some reason. I screamed and fell over, right onto Patience. The toe of her shoe jabbed me hard in the stomach.

"…I sunk again, Brother," was all Al had to say.

Ed didn't say anything, but simply observed the long (?) chain of people who had fallen. "All this because of you Al. Reason number two I hate the desert."

--

"I don't understand why you keep falling in!" Ed yelled at his younger brother after pulling him out of the sand. "We wasted a lot of time on that! And just looked at Hope and Patience!"

Ed pointed to us. We lay sprawled on the sand, exhausted.

"Lifting 700 pounds of metal out of the ground isn't easy, even _with_ Hope! Just standing next to her is a pain! Patience even had to stop time so gravity wouldn't make you as heavy!" Ed continued to complain. "They're probably going to have to rest for at least two days, and-"

"No," I said, suddenly sitting up. "I'm fine."

"Me too," said Patience. She sat up as well. "I've got a nice tan, too!"

"Huh?" Ed and Al said blankly. They both turned to look at me. "What?"

"I said, 'I'm fine.'" I sat up and dusted myself off. "I dunno. All of a sudden, I just…felt better."

"Me too!" said Patience, jumping up energetically. "I feel like I could cook for Ed, polish Al's armor, dry-clean Hope's jacket, and dye my own hair green!" She paused, a bit unnerved about the last part of her declaration. "And still have energy!" She added.

The attention then immediately shifted to Alphonse, who was beginning to wobble back and forth. "Brother, I'm full again," he said, slightly dismayed.

Ed's shock faded and his anger took over. "Full of what?" he demanded, kicking Al in the chest plate. The plate fell off, and a mound of sand fell on top of Ed.

Al laughed nervously and inched away, while Ed broke free of the sand and began to chase him. I immediately burst into laughed. "You had that coming to you, Edward!"

He ignored me. "Get back here!" he yelled at Alphonse.

"What're you gonna do?"

"Nothing!"

"Then why are you chasing me?"

"Stop and you'll find out!"

"I promise I won't get buried again!"

"Not unless it's by me!"

Just like little kids, I thought, and sat down on a sand dune. It's funny how everything changed in one night, though I'm not exactly sure what happened. All I know is that Ed and Al went into a lab one night and came out the next morning, only different. Al was a walking suit of empty armor, and Ed was missing two limbs.

But I'm strange too, I thought. I have strange mood swings, and sometimes have trouble…feeling emotions. And I have a strange tattoo on my ankle that no one knows about.

I hadn't even told Ed about the tattoo. Part of my fear was silly. I was afraid he would touch it, which really hurt, though I didn't know why. But the other part was reasonable. What if it was something bad?

--

"See? Town! Just like I said, right?" I said cheerily as we entered a small village. "I bet there's food, and water, and…um…stuff here!"

"Town stuff!" added Patience cheerily, and we laughed.

"'Town?' You said it was a city! As in, big, tall buildings, five-star hotels, y'know, that sort of thing?" growled Ed, trudging along beside me.

"Are you okay, Brother?" asked Al, concerned.

"…It's you're fault for not stopping when I said," was all he had to say.

"You wouldn't stop either if someone were chasing you," Al said indignantly. He then refused to say anything.

Ed refused to say anything but complaints. "Water," he groaned. "I can hear water…mocking me…calling me short…telling me to drink milk…"

This was a new concept to me. Since when does water call alchemists short and advise them to drink beverages rich in calcium and lactose?

Suddenly Ed stopped. He frowned, then ran forward, and looked around. "Wait a second," he said thoughtfully. "I _can_ hear it! And it's not mocking me! It's telling me to come closer! Al, Hope, Pat, look!" Ed pointed at a fountain overflowing with water with a slightly red tint. Patience turned the color of the water. She hated being called Pat.

"Wahahahaha!" Ed produced an almost-evil laugh and started to run towards the fountain. I followed him, hoping to push him in while he drank.

Just as Ed reached the fountain, a little of the "water" splashed on his face. He tested the taste and cringed.

Al, Patience and I arrived behind him. "I guess this explains the nasty stench in the air," Ed was saying.

"What's wrong?" asked Al, looking at the water. Ed filled the glass I made and waved it in front of Al's nose.

If Al had eyes, they would have widened. "Is it blood?" he asked, awed.

Patience cringed. "A blood fountain? …Maybe they're cannibals!" she squealed, hid behind Al.

I stuck my finger in the cup and tasted it. "No. If it was blood, I would know."

"How?" Al asked, even more awed. "Are you a cannibal?" Patience asked. Both were soon distracted by Ed's explanation.

"It's more like blood-red wine," he whimpered.

"Blech," I said, and turned away, only to run into an old man in an apron.

"Excuse me, young lady," he said politely, tipping his hat. He then ran over to Edward and yelled, "HEY! GET AWAY FROM THERE!" at the top of his lungs. "YOU KNOW THAT'S OFF LIMITS TO KIDS! …Oh, why, good morning, miss!" He tipped his hat to Patience with his remaining hand.

"Meh?" said Edward, dazed from being picked up. The man had grabbed his shirt collar with one hand, and was tipping his had to Patience with the other.

--

"YAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" roared the man. We were sitting at a small bar that he owned, watching him roar with laughter at our small mistake. He had such a weird laugh…

"You're outta-towners!" he said, calming himself. "That explains it. You'll have to forgive me-" he wiped his eye "-I thought you were trying to sneak a little dip!" He paused, eyeing me suspiciously. Ever since Edward, Alphonse and I had sat down in the bar, he had been becoming more and more unnerved at what he called "un-ladylike behavior."

"You gonna order a drink?" he asked, almost coldly.

"You gonna shut up?" I said, returning his glare. He jumped, then turned to Patience, a much more friendly look on his face. He obviously preferred Patience's sweet, innocent disposition to my grumpy, play-hard attitude.

"Would you like a drink, young lady?" he asked politely.

"I'd just like some tea, please," she said, returning his smile. Just as he turned away, Patience elbowed me and gave me an annoyed look. "He's trying his best to entertain his customers. Be more polite!" she whispered. She quickly turned away and smiled at the man as he gave her the tea.

"You're a cute little girl," he said brightly, then turned away to get some sugar and milk for the tea.

"I can't blame you, though," Patience whispered as soon as his back was turned. "He is pretty weird!" We giggled quietly as Ed sipped at his juice and Al simply sat quietly.

Edward looked behind him at the fountain and let out an impressed whistle. "A fountain stocked with free wine? That's pretty ritzy! This town must be _loaded_!"

"Yeah, we do alright here," replied the man. "Oh, I almost forgot! Time for a little soul food." With that, the man reached up and pushed a button on the ceiling. A radio behind him turned on. It began playing what sounded like a cross between the music you hear in an elevator or a lobby and church music. Edward looked around, and I followed his gaze.

Other citizens and bar-tenders were turning on their radios as well, creating a surround-sound effect. "My soul's not so hungry anymore…" I muttered to Patience, and she giggled.

"Was it ever hungry?" she asked, and took a sip of her tea. "What'd you think people are doing?"

The once grumpy bar-tender had closed his eyes and was facing his head down humbly. Other people were doing this too, as if they were praying. I elbowed Edward.

"Look, even kids get a break," I said, pointing to a tall building that looked like a school. Inside, classes of young children had stopped their studies and were praying, just like the man.

Ed looked around in awe. He was about to say something back, but the radio interrupted him.

"Children of god who live upon this land," came a deep voice from the radio, "pray in faith and ye may be saved."

"Huh?" said Edward. Patience and I were similarly confused, and Alphonse was shifting uncomfortably. This was VERY weird.

"As sun lights the day, so does the sun god, Leto, illuminate thy path," continued the man on the radio. "and drown out thy sorrows."

"Well, that's freakish," Edward concluded with a wise nod of his head. Patience giggled, and I outright laughed, which attracted a few stares from some of the passers-by. If Alphonse had been out of his armor, he would have been blushing. Al was very shy. Even Patience shifted a little bit. She didn't like the people staring either.

"It's some kind of religious broadcast," said Al. The annoying radio was still going in the background. The bar-tender opened his eyes and glared at Edward.

"Your buddy's in a suit of armor, and you're wearing gloves in the desert, and you call US freaks?" he said, annoyed. "And those two young ladies sitting with you have absolutely no manners at all! Who raised you?"

Edward ignored him and sipped his juice. Alphonse stared at his armor self-consciously. Patience looked down, hurt at being scolded about her manners. I growled and kicked at the table bar, hoping to get the man's legs in the process.

"What's your deal anyway?" said the man, annoyed. "Are you street performers?"

Edward, shocked, spit out his juice and blew through the straw. Alphonse grumbled quietly. Patience made a fist with her hand, but kept it in her lap. My foot went right through the bar table. "Whoops," I said, not even apologizing. The bar-tender glared at me, and I glared back.

"I don't think so, Pops!" Edward. "Do I look like a clown to you?"

"And do I look like I have time to worry about manners?" I said, cleaning stains from Ed's juice off my white lab coat. "When I have _him_ to worry about? I hate you, Edward Elric."

Edward sighed. "I know."

"Well, you must have _some_ reason to journey out this far." The man glared at Edward and me.

Ed sighed. "We're just trying to track something down, that's all." He turned to the radio. "Who is this guy? On your airways?"

"Why, that's Sir Cornello!" said the bar-tender! He said it as if it was the most obvious thing, which it wasn't.

"Doesn't ring a bell," Edward said. I opened my mouth to say something, but Patience elbowed me. "Hope," she said, "this guy is being really nice. He gave us free drinks, and he didn't get upset when your foot went straight through his bar! Be nice!" She turned her head politely and waited for the man's explanation about Sir Cornello, but I could tell she couldn't care less.

"YOU'RE KIDDING ME!" said the man, shocked. "YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF THE GREAT PROPHET CORNELLO?"

"What's great about him?" said Ed. Patience, who had become upset at the man for yelling, decided to finally lay off about manners. "Is there such thing as a great prophet?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah there is!" said a bald man drinking a beer. "He can perform miracles, for one thing!"

"Miraculous," I said.

"This town was a god-forsaken dustbowl before Cornello got here and transformed it into a desert paradise!" cried another.

"How special," said Patience, upset at the other customers for butting into our oh-so-informative conversation with the bartender.

"Cornello can even forgive sins!" Now, we had begun to attract attention, and several other men had gathered behind us.

"Yeah! We're on the sun god's good side because of him!"

"He gives us blessings!"

"WOULD YOU PEOPLE JUST SHUT UP?!" I screamed, unable to take it anymore. Edward, for once, seemed to agree with me.

"I just remembered," he whined, "We have to be somewhere. You ready to split?" he asked us.

"You're whiney. I hate you, Edward," I informed him for the thousandth time. Then I remembered that if I stayed here, the townspeople would just keep telling me about how this Cornello person could work miracles.

"But I'll go with you," I added as an afterthought.

"Come on, Hope," Patience said sweetly. "Shall we, Alphonse?"

"Yeah, okay."

Patience stood up and made a swift bow. "Thank you for your hospitality!" she said sweetly.

Edward looked at her. "Just a second ago, you were glaring at the townspeople! I don't understand how your moods change so fast."

Alphonse was eager to change the subject, and stood up fast.

Too fast.

Because of his bulky, tall body, Al's head hit the low ceiling, and the whole bar shook. The radio jumped about a foot in the air, lurched forward, and hit the ground, shattering into precisely 15 pieces.

Following was a long, awkward silence.

"Oops," said Alphonse, at last.

"Now you've done in, buddy!" yelled the bartender. "What'd you expect, wearing a stupid tin suit!"

"You JERK!" Patience suddenly screamed. "How could you be so mean to him? He didn't mean it! I thanked you for your hospitality. You're not being very hospitable right now!"

"That tin can just broke my radio!" the bartender yelled back at Patience.

"Woah! Okay, relax, Pat," said Edward, stepping in. Patience snarled at being called Pat, but Ed took no notice. "Don't bust a lung, grandpa," he said to the bartender. "We can fix it!"

"It's in a thousand pieces!" screamed the man, probably indeed busting his lung.

"I'm sorry…" said Al, looking down. Patience was close to tears.

"How could you be so mean to him?!" she screamed. "It's only in 15 pieces! That's nowhere close to a thousand! Edward can fix it!"

"No, it's okay," said Alphonse kindly, laying a hand on Patience's shoulder. "Let me try."

"Sure," said Edward.

--

I whistled. "That's quite a circle, Al. Even I have trouble believing that it can fix that radio, though!" I laughed, but Patience glared at me.

"He's trying his best! It'll work! We'll show that mean old man, right Al?"

"Uh…"

"This is ridiculous. That drawing. What's it for?"

"You'll see in just a second," said Edward, watching the circle proudly. "It's called a transmutation circle."

Alphonse placed the contents of the broken radio in the center of the circle and stood above it.

"Okay. Here goes!"

Alphonse placed his hands above the circle, one hand over the other, and a bolt of electricity shot down and hit the circle. Smoke exploded from the radio, and when it cleared, the radio was intact again, good as new.

"If you are lost, follow me, and ye may be found," it rambled, as if to prove that it was working again. "If you are scared, take refuge…"

"It's really a land of prophets!" cried the bartender, staring awe-struck at the radio. "You're buddy can work miracles just like Cornello!"

"Oh, sure, that _must_ be it," I said, rolling my eyes. Edward was more willing to offer a proper explanation. "It's nothing like that," he said.

"It's science," said Alphonse. "We're alchemists."

"We're the Elric brothers," continued Edward. "That's Patience and H-"

"I can introduce myself! My name is Hope, and I'm a…a…You planned for this to happen, didn't you, Edward? You knew that I wouldn't know what to say! I hate you, Edward!"

"Elrics? Not familiar," said the bald man.

"Hope? Patience? Never heard of you. What're your last names?" asked another man with a beard.

"My daughter's name was Hope. She went missing a while ago. Are you her, reincarnated as a heretic?"

Edward attempted a smile. "You'd best not say that…unless you want your doorknobs exploding."

"Huh? Doorknobs?" asked yet another man. "Are they broken? I fix things for a living, y'know. If you guys ever need a job, let me know."

"Don't be an idiot," came a mysterious, female voice from the corner of the bar.

Edward, Alphonse, Patience, and I turned to look at her. She was covered completely in a gray cloak, but I could see her hair was curly and jet black.

"He doesn't need any work. That's Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. He's been a celebrity around this city. They say he's a real child prodigy."

Something about the way she said that sent shivers down my spine, and I shifted uncomfortably. Edward was uncomfortable too, and he frowned at the lady. Soon, however, he noticed she was complimenting him, if sarcastically, and he gave a complacent grin.

"Wow!" cried someone, and Edward, Patience, and I noticed that the attention was no longer focused around Edward, but Alphonse.

"A real live famous person!" cried the bald man.

"I see!" exclaimed the bearded man. "You got the name "Fullmetal" 'cause you wear that armor!"

"I had a son named Edward. He went missing a while ago with Hope. Are you him, reincarnated as an alchemist?"

"Will you come to my daughter's birthday party?"

"Um…" said Alphonse, gently trying (in vain) to wave the people away. "I'm not the Fullmetal Alchemist. He is!" Alphonse gestured at Ed.

"You mean that little shorty there?" said the guy whose kids had gone missing.

"He's done it now," Patience murmured, and I smiled.

--

"GRAHHHH!" cried Edward leaping up. He grabbed two of the men by the collars and began swinging them around. "SHORTY? CAN A LITTLE SHORTY DO THIS? YOU WANNA CALL ME A HALF-PINT, BEAN-SPROUT, MIDGET? I'M STILL GROWING, YOU BACKWATER DESERT IDIOTS!"

"I see there's plenty of excitement around here today," came a friendly, female voice. Edward put the two men down, and all heads turned to where the voice had come from.

"Ah, Rose!" said the bartender. Rose, a girl in a white dress carrying a bag of groceries, smiled. She had pink bangs, but the rest of her hair was brown. She smiled. "Don't mind me, I'd hate to spoil all the fun."

"That's okay," said Alphonse, standing up straight. "My name's Alphonse Elric." He bowed.

"I'm Patience," said Patience, bowing as well. "Not Pat, just Patience." She nudged Ed, who ignored it.

"My name is Hope. Just Hope. I don't know my last name, and I am MOST CERTAINLY NOT YOUR LOST DAUGHTER!" I screamed at the man with lost children, who was eyeing my longingly.

"I'm Edward Elric," said Edward, tossing the two men aside. "I'm Al's older brother. I'm also known as the Fullmetal Alchemist."

"Older brother? But shouldn't it be the other way around?"

Ed made a low growl, and while Alphonse calmed him down, Patience sighed. "We've been through this already. Please don't."

"Easy, Edward," soothed Al, and Edward took a ragged breath and calmed himself.

The bartender laughed. "Hey, Rose," he asked, "You finished your shopping for today's offering?"

"Yeah."

"Well, then, maybe you can take these guys to temple with you. They've been looking for something. I bet Father Cornello could help out. Y'know, have them ask for God's grace."

"Uh…it's okay. We don't really-"

"It's alright if you don't have an offering today," Rose said cheerily. "And besides, he has rooms for travelers. You could stay there tonight."

"Thanks, but, uh-"

"As a matter of fact, we'd love to take you up on that, wouldn't we Al?" said Edward, nudging Alphonse.

"We would?" said Alphonse. "You mean you want to?"

"Mmhmm!"

The bald man, the bearded man, the guy with missing kids, and the bartender watched us leave.

"It sure is nice to see a smile on Rose's face," said the bald man. I was surprised I could hear him from such a distance.

"Yeah," said the bartender. "She's beginning to act like her old self again." He paused. "Her heart must be healing at last…"

Patience nudged me. "Did you hear that?" she whispered.

"You could hear them too? But they're so far away, and talking so quietly."

"I know. Ed and Al can't hear them. Why can we?"

"I dunno. Maybe-"

"So Hope," Rose asked pleasantly, making me jump.

"Yeah?" I responded.

Rose giggled. "Are you Edward's girlfriend? I've seen you hanging around him a lot."

I hissed, a quiet noise that soon turned into a growl, and I could hear a telltale "pop", meaning that somewhere, off in the distance, someone's doorknob had exploded. Then, however, I heard smelled charcoal, and knew that a door had burned down as well.

"I'm not his girlfriend. I hate him terribly. Don't ask me again," I said coolly, and walked ahead, fuming.

"Hope!" Patience called after me, concerned. "Don't do this again! You're just like Edward in that way!"

Pop. Someone else's doorknob.

"Hey, Al," I could hear Ed whispering from behind me. "Remember that woman at the shop? She knew me. Have we met before?"

"No," Al whispered back. "I don't think so."

"Me neither!" chimed Patience, and the look on Edward's face betrayed his shock that she had heard them. "But there was something funny about her. Does it remind you of anyone?"

"Yeah," Edward mused. "Hope. That woman reminded me of Hope."

"And you," Alphonse added. "Something about her was similar to you. I can't quite place i- oh." Alphonse realized too late that he had said something wrong.

"How could you be so mean, Al? I'm not at all like that creepy old lady!" she cried, and, tears flowing from her eyes, ran ahead.

Rose fixed Patience and me with a look of concern, then looked back at Edward and Alphonse.

"You and your friends shouldn't worry. I'm sure Cornello will help you find what you're looking for."

Edward smiled absent-mindedly, his mind obviously on something else.

"And besides," Rose nudged bringing him back down to Amestris, "if you show you're faithful, I bed he could make you taller!"

Edward growled. "What's wrong with you people?! I'm not short! You come from a desert tribe of giants or something!"

"Edward, please!" scolded Alphonse.

"We've had enough already!" yelled Patience from far ahead.

"You want some of this too, Pat?!"

"MY NAME'S PATIENCE! I'M NOT PAT!"

--

Rose led us to a church, up a few flights of stairs, and to a pair of thick doors. All around us, words from the religious broadcast echoed. "Wait here," she said, and entered.

"What'd you think she's doing in there?" mused Edward, looking around.

"Father Cornello?" came a muffled voice from behind the door.

"You can't hear them?" I said. "I can."

"So can I!" said Patience. "Just shut up and listen. You'll hear."

"May I put some travelers in the pilgrim's quarters?" came Rose's loud yet muffled voice from the other side.

"I don't hear anything," said Alphonse. "What about you, Brother?" he turned to Ed.

"Nothing." Edward knocked gently on the door, but no one on the other side heard him.

"You really delight in helping other solve their troubles, don't you?" came a man's voice, probably Father Cornello's.

"These doors are really thick," Edward mused. He put his hand on a wall and knocked. The sound echoed through the corridor. "Really _really_ thick."

"Well, Edward, you must be deaf, because I can hear them fine," said Patience. "Now she's saying that helping people is what Father Cornello teaches her, so that's what she does…or tries to do."

"And now he's saying that God sees those good deeds and writes them down. But she has to be patient because he needs a little more time to grant the miracle she seeks," I added.

"She has to be me?" Patience cried in distress.

"Patient, not Patien_ce_!" laughed Alphonse. "Wow. You two must have really good hearing."

"Hmm," mused Edward. "I suppose that's it." He seemed to be trying more to convince himself rather than us.

"Hello, everyone!" came Rose's cheery voice, but this time closer, and I realized she was standing right in front of me. I jumped.

"I've gotten you a room to stay in in the Pilgrim's Quarters. This way!" She began to walk away, then turned around. "Something wrong, Edward?"

I looked back, realizing that Ed wasn't following, apparently lost in his own thoughts. "Huh?" he said, looking up. "Oh, right. Coming!" he followed hurriedly after.

--

"It's heaven!" I cried, flopping down on one of the four beds. "A real _bed_. A real _room_." I sighed. "Now, all I need is munchies, and I'll truly be happy."

Edward laughed. "Yeah, I know. We've been on the road a lot lately, so…well, I guess it's only natural to miss having a room of your own." He sat down next to me on the bed and put his hand on my foot, inches away from the mark on my ankle.

Panic started in my stomach and spread throughout my body. What if he took off my shoe and sock and found the mark? What if he touched it, and it hurt? What if it was something bad? What if, then, he would push me away, and I would be left to fend for myself, away from Alphonse and Patience?

"W-w-woaaaah! W-wait a s-second!" I sputtered, leaping up. "Back off, buddy!" I drew my legs to my chest and hugged me knees. "This bed's mine. You can have the one across the room, farthest away from me!"

Edward didn't move. Instead, he turned his head, looking at me. Something about the look on his face frightened me. He looked confused, shocked, unsure, almost…hurt. But most importantly, he looked like he didn't intend moving an inch. His gaze wandered to his hand on my foot, and panic exploded through my mind.

"Get off, get off!" I shrieked, pushing his hand away and pushing him off the bed. Taken by surprise, he fell off quite easily, and looked up at me from the floor. Now that he was off the bed, I was starting to calm down; my heartbeat slowing, my mind relaxing.

Without a word, Edward stood up and dusted himself off. The room had gone silent. Patience and Alphonse, who had been pleasantly chatting about the weather before, had stopped, staring at Edward and me.

Edward looked from them, to me, and to them again. Finally, he looked at me, tearing my heart apart with that _face_. I was shocked at myself for feeling so guilty about pushing him. I hate him, I told myself. I hate him so much, I wouldn't care if he died. With those thoughts, I was able to pull myself together and look Ed in the eye.

"Okay," Edward said, attempting and failing a smile. "I'll just, uh, y'know, go sit over there…or something." Jamming his hands in his pockets, he walked quietly over to a chair by the window and sat down, staring out.

Now that it was all over, I realized that I had been rather stupid. Edward wouldn't have taken off my shoe or sock. He had no reason to believe that the mark was even there. And even if he did find it or touch it, he wouldn't abandon me just because I had it. Besides, I hated him, and though I didn't feel the same about Alphonse, he meant little to me. Patience was my only friend here. Edward and Alphonse were more like conveniences. Like pieces of furniture, they were just kind of…there.

Still, part of me couldn't help feeling a pang of pity for Edward, and I considered inviting him back to sit with me. As soon as the thought went through my head, an alarm went off. No, I told myself. You hate him. Why would you want to sit with him?

I sat back on my bed, frowned, and closed my eyes, a strange, unexplained anger slowly burning in my stomach.

--

Skyler25: -evil grin-

Hope: -rolls eyes- You're really stupid sometimes, y'know?

Skyler25: Hey, you can't call me stupid! I have an ahoge!

Hope: -sad look- Oh, right…

Skyler25: AHOGE MEANS POWER!

Ed: Does that mean I have power too? –points to head-

Skyler25: -snips of Ed's ahoge with scissors-

Ed: WAAAAAAH!

Skyler25: BWAHAHAHA!


End file.
